Abstract

Polymer matrix composites using renewable resources are currently of great interest. A novel resin system based on soybean oil for pultrusion was synthesized at University of Missouri-Rolla. It is important to set up the process parameters properly in order to obtain high quality pultruded product using soy-based resin system. In the present work, a combination of experimental and numerical methods was used to investigate the effect of pultrusion process variables on the cure of composites. A mathematical model has been developed and implemented in the commercial ABAQUS finite element code to predict the degree of cure of soy-based composites. The kinetic parameters of the soy-based composites were obtained from differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Glass fiber composite samples were manufactured using pultrusion machine. For experimental verification, an on-line monitoring system was used to measure the temperature profile and the degree of cure of the pultruded soy-based composites measured by DSC. The experimental findings are in good agreement with the finite element prediction. The developed process model can be used to establish optimal pultrusion parameters for soy-based composites.